December 17, 1903, 10:35 am, Orville Wright makes the world's first powered, controlled, sustained flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft flying 120 feet in 12 seconds (6.8 mph). #WrightBrothers #airplanes #avgeek #STEM 1/
2/ It took place at Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Though 700 miles via train, boat and foot from Wilbur and Orville Wright's Dayton, Ohio hometown, it offered excellent headwinds and near complete privacy as it was undeveloped and very hard to get to at the time.
3/ They walked the Wright Flyer back to the runway, a 60' long wooden track. A skid had cracked, but they repaired it. Now at 11:00 am, Wilbur Wright↗️, 36, flew next, reaching 175 feet in 12 seconds. Next, Orville Wright↘️, 32, flew 200 feet in 15 seconds.
4/ The Wright Brothers had designed and built their flier using spruce and ash wood, muslin fabric, their own propellers, sprocket chains, etc. Their brilliant employee Charlie Taylor scratch-built an #ALCOA aluminum head 12-hp 180 lb gas engine fed from a one-gallon container.
5/ Wilbur made a fourth flight covering 852 feet in 59 seconds (10 mph!)↖️. Click 📸↗️to see a nice panoramic of the same photo. Note track detail.↙️shows the four flights marked out by little black marks on the map.↘️ View from ground.
6/ The fourth flight cracked the front rudder structure. They were going to repair it, when a big wind gust flipped the 800-pound Wright Flyer over breaking it. It never flew again. It's been at @NASM, Washington, DC since 1976, but that's after many adventures along the way!
@NASM 7/ This Wright Brothers related thread connects them to the @AFmuseum in Dayton, Ohio, its roots in Huffman Field and the Wright Brothers' home.
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